Eastland Mall Redevelopment

[mallguy]

It's not dead yet.

True. Once Belk is gone, though, the mall's curb appeal will be even less than now, with abandoned Harris-Teeter and Belk stores as the first thing drivers coming from Sharon Amity see, after that abandoned gas station at the corner of Central and Sharon Amity. I'd think Dillard's will high-tail it out of the mall sometime in 2007, leaving just Sears, hidden at the back of the mall, and Burlington Coat Factory.

Lovely.

I'd guess the CATS transit hub didn't do much to help save the mall.

[monsoon]

It's not dead yet.

Indeed. Yesterday a big national theatre chain signed a contract to put a new movie theatre in the mall. It will open next spring.

I do wonder how this chain thinks it can make a profit there given the closure of the original 3 screen theatre inside the mall.

[StevenRocks]

Indeed. Yesterday a big national theatre chain signed a contract to put a new movie theatre in the mall. It will open next spring.

I do wonder how this chain thinks it can make a profit there given the closure of the original 3 screen theatre inside the mall.

Good news on the theaters. I'm glad to see something's coming rather than going.

You know, with a Target open or coming to every other corner in Charlotte, why not an Eastland store?

[monsoon]

Target has tended to close stores in neighborhoods with similar demographics. The store at NorthPark and the store on Independence is another.

[DigitalSky]

Yeah. Target is moving out to the suburbs, or to the affluent core, seeing as they closed original (richway/gold circle) stores at Northpark, Independence, Freedom, Westpark and have moved up the street on all.

I think the movie theater is good news, as long as it doesn't attract the wrong crowds and bad attention.

[otherstream]

I do wonder how this chain thinks it can make a profit there given the closure of the original 3 screen theatre inside the mall.

They probably believe the old theatre closed specifically because it was only three screens rather than due to its location. And they may well have been right. It's almost impossible to make money on a small operation like that these days; that's why one- to four-screen cinemas are closing all over the country, even in higher income neighborhoods.

I think a newer, larger theatre complex at Eastland might be a gold mine if it can adequately address the perceived security issues.

[StevenRocks]

Target has tended to close stores in neighborhoods with similar demographics. The store at NorthPark and the store on Independence is another.

What a waste. They can't even get discount stores to stick around Eastland!

[dubone]

My family went there today to check out the store closing. We didn't get anything because the 30% off wasn't that great of a deal, and the lines were nutty. I can't help but observing the major transit hub there. I sure hope that turns out to be a good idea in the end, because right now, it appears to be very foolish and a waste of money.

I also couldn't help but really notice the merchandise. It is no wonder they're having to close the store. The clothes really were very much for middle aged white golfers. But then again, maybe that was just what was left after the first round of being picked through.

[monsoon]

..... The clothes really were very much for middle aged white golfers. ....

It's not likely they will get many of the country club set to come and get these clothes. Maybe they will take them down to SouthPark once the store is closed.

[dubone]

My thought exactly.

Has anyone heard of a big box store just buying a mall outright and just using all the space in it, knocking walls out between the different stores? I've always wondered why a store like that couldn't just reuse an old mall building. They could separate the different kinds of clothes and make little brands for their departments, putting them in little stores off the main aisle. They could put housewares in one, containers in another, pharmacy in another, groceries on the ground floor of an old department store. They could then build a checkout centers at each of the entrances.

It would be interesting to see what actually does come of this space. I don't see Target coming, since they are opening ther inner city store in Met-Midtown. There is also an apparent glut of space on the East side.

I wrote it earlier, but I would hope that they could do some office space as part of the land, and then have a smaller retail place focusing on what can succeed in that marketplace. A movie theater is a good start, although it is just asking for a continuation of what gave Eastland a bad name in the first place. Teenagers milling around, not spending money, and becoming criminals.

[monsoon]

A sister mall to Eastland, Myrtle Square Mall, (opened the same year/same type design) is planned to be torn down, if it already happened. It really could not compete against all the new shopping venues in Myrtle Beach. It's my guess this will be the ultimate fate of Eastland.

Two other malls have been town down in CLT that I know of. First was WestPark (I think that was the name) on Tyvola road, and the other was of course the former CharlotteTown Mall.

[DigitalSky]

Has anyone heard of a big box store just buying a mall outright and just using all the space in it, knocking walls out between the different stores? I've always wondered why a store like that couldn't just reuse an old mall building. They could separate the different kinds of clothes and make little brands for their departments, putting them in little stores off the main aisle. They could put housewares in one, containers in another, pharmacy in another, groceries on the ground floor of an old department store. They could then build a checkout centers at each of the entrances.

It would be interesting to see what actually does come of this space. I don't see Target coming, since they are opening ther inner city store in Met-Midtown. There is also an apparent glut of space on the East side.

I wrote it earlier, but I would hope that they could do some office space as part of the land, and then have a smaller retail place focusing on what can succeed in that marketplace. A movie theater is a good start, although it is just asking for a continuation of what gave Eastland a bad name in the first place. Teenagers milling around, not spending money, and becoming criminals.

Big boxes would want the store to look like their own. Plus, for big boxes it would probably be easier, if not cheaper, to just demo the existing structure and build their own building (re: carolina circle mall, which in many ways is very similar to Eastland). This mall has been deomlished and a Wal-mart Supercenter has been built, with smaller shops coming and a Lowes possibly. As cool as it might seem to make the mall into a big box store, also keep in mind a big box (wal mart supercenter for example) is average 200k square feet. Eastland Mall is total 1.1 million square feet. Yeah, they could do office space too like they did at Freedom Mall (which is much smaller) .. Target is definately not coming and neither is Wal-Mart since they are building their supercenter just down the road, so I don't know what stores will come in to fill the voids.

[MZT]

I think Eastland will remain open for at least several more years. (It might only be the stores fronting Central Ave and the transit center, though.) With all the other vacant retail parcels on Albemarle and Independence available now, I don't think there will be any rush to redevelop the mall site.

Edited December 17, 2006 by MZT

[StevenRocks]

I also couldn't help but really notice the merchandise. It is no wonder they're having to close the store. The clothes really were very much for middle aged white golfers. But then again, maybe that was just what was left after the first round of being picked through.

Belk Eastland is filled with really boring, middle-market clothes that aren't as prominent at SouthPark, Northlake and Carolina Place. Most of the bridge and designer apparel was phased out a few years ago. There were some urban brands for a while, and some were still there when I last visited, but all in all it was a pitful presentation.

[mallguy]

Am I missing something? Based on the Observer article, it seems as if the old movie theater is just re-opening. Definitely a good sign, but the movie theater, in its prior incarnation, didn't help the mall avoid losing JC Penney and a slew of mid-market stores, and I don't see the Myers Park crowd flocking to the Eastland movie theater on Friday nights.

McAlister Square in Greenville, SC also went under, although its movie theater was later re-opened by other investors. The mall did not come back to life then as a retail center.

A positive sign, I think, is that Man Alive, owned by The Finish Line, is taking 4,600 sf of space. Having a new national chain tenant, even though it is just more urban clothing, is a good sign. Seems to be located in a variety of "urban" malls (e.g., Greenspoint Mall in Houston and Columbia Place in SC) around the country (and Lenox Square- ?!) but at least the management of that chain must have some hope for the future of the mall.

Steve & Barry's would still be an ideal fit for the mall.

Edited December 18, 2006 by mallguy

[DigitalSky]

I always thought that on the success (?) of Burlington Coat Factory, other mid-market discount retailers would do well there too, such as Ross, Marshall's and TJ Maxx.

[StevenRocks]

A positive sign, I think, is that Man Alive, owned by The Finish Line, is taking 4,600 sf of space. Having a new national chain tenant, even though it is just more urban clothing, is a good sign. Seems to be located in a variety of "urban" malls (e.g., Greenspoint Mall in Houston and Columbia Place in SC) around the country (and Lenox Square- ?!) but at least the management of that chain must have some hope for the future of the mall.

There's a Man Alive in Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem and at River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg, Va., also. The chain seems to favor malls with large minority poulations nearby, but they don't always have to be "urban" malls in an Eastland/Columbia Place kind of way.

[xyhamiltonboi]

Being the Columbia Place writer people have asked me do I think retail is on the slide at Columbia Place pointing at Eastland Mall which has forced me to study Eastland Mall.

Malls across the country are going through the same changes as Eastland Mall and they aren't dead. Malls can rebound before they go through what I call the stages. Here is my example.

SPECIALTY LOSS

Specialty loss occurs when the mall loses a number of national chains to either a new shopping center opening within it's trade area, bankruptcies or the slight change in demographics. Examples of this can be seen in two regional malls in the southeast. Southlake Mall in Atlanta, GA and Columbia Place Mall in Columbia, South Carolina. Doesn't mean they're dead, this gives a chance to reposition and to take the proper precautions to survive for another 10-20 years or longer. In most cases all the anchors are still in tact. Ever notice that different shoppers walk through the mall versus shop the anchors. Recommendation is to look for ways to recreate that original luster

ANCHOR LOSS

Anchor Loss occurs when the specialty sector and market is ignored allowing numerous vacancies to pop up in the mall leaving entire categories dead. This happens typically after the Specialty loss is ignored and with the change in demographics allowing the low income customer type to drive away the spending customer. Normally crime and bad press come with this allowing the perception to drop. This can be seen at two other regional malls in the southeast. Century Plaza in Alabama and Raleigh Springs Mall in Memphis, TN. Recommendation is to keep the spaces filled and attract anything that takes the blight off dark anchors

DEAD is where there's nothing to work with and Eastland is just in Anchor Loss

[Version70-8]

After the movie theater at Eastland was closed the first time it reopened for a short period as a Spanish-language theater but even then it never generated a lot of business and closed again rather quickly.

Oh...I know it was mentioned already that Victoria's Secret was leaving the mall in 2007 but I have a really great source that told me that all of the other Limited Brands stores (Express, The Limited, Bath and Body Works) were exiting next year as well. From what I have been told all of these stores have leases that expire next year and that they have only stuck around until now so that they could decline to renegotiate new leases and leave without having to break their current agreements and incur a hefty "early-exit" fee.

Oooh one more thing...from another source of mine I was told that Steve and Barry's University Apparel had looked at coming to the mall two or so years ago but went elsewhere.

I have a feeling that with the redevelopment of the old Midtown Square site that a lot of potential retailers for Eastland will flock to the new Target/Home Depot center over there?

[Version70-8]

McAlister Square in Greenville, SC also went under, although its movie theater was later re-opened by other investors. The mall did not come back to life then as a retail center.

You are correct. The movie theater at McAlister Square here in Greenville did reopen once showing only Christian-themed films but eventually closed again. But wait...it came back to life for a third time as a standard Regal Cinemas and remains open as a popular alternative to the Hollywood 20 Cinemas (which is the largest theater in SC) that is just down the road.

Also just to add, the theater has always been a freestanding building up in the corner of the whole mall area. The former mall is now occupied partially by a few small businesses/non-profit organizations but mostly by a consortium of colleges/universities such as USC, Clemson, MUSC, Furman, SC State and others that renovated a large portion of the place to use in order to hold classes. Named the University Center, it is a great place for people in the area to take select courses offered by those schools without having to leave Greenville. This has been an extremely popular place and therefore very wise decision for whomever came up with the idea!

[DigitalSky]

After the movie theater at Eastland was closed the first time it reopened for a short period as a Spanish-language theater but even then it never generated a lot of business and closed again rather quickly.

Oh...I know it was mentioned already that Victoria's Secret was leaving the mall in 2007 but I have a really great source that told me that all of the other Limited Brands stores (Express, The Limited, Bath and Body Works) were exiting next year as well. From what I have been told all of these stores have leases that expire next year and that they have only stuck around until now so that they could decline to renegotiate new leases and leave without having to break their current agreements and incur a hefty "early-exit" fee.

Oooh one more thing...from another source of mine I was told that Steve and Barry's University Apparel had looked at coming to the mall two or so years ago but went elsewhere.

I have a feeling that with the redevelopment of the old Midtown Square site that a lot of potential retailers for Eastland will flock to the new Target/Home Depot center over there?

You know what. I can see a lot of Eastland stores relocating to Midtown too. I wonder if it would bring Limited Brands uptown. I also can see Steve & Barry's moving in at Eastland, as has been mentioned "classic dead mall anchor"

[Version70-8]

You know what. I can see a lot of Eastland stores relocating to Midtown too. I wonder if it would bring Limited Brands uptown. I also can see Steve & Barry's moving in at Eastland, as has been mentioned "classic dead mall anchor"

I doubt Limited Brands would do something like that but you never know? If any of their brands opened a store there I would say Bath & Body Works seems the most likely.

[NCMike1981]

It seems odd to me that Bath & Body Works would close next year too as they seem to be located in every mall around that isn't completely dead along with GNC and Radioshack...

[otherstream]

I also can see Steve & Barry's moving in at Eastland, as has been mentioned "classic dead mall anchor"

I just happened to drive by the old Super Kmart at Independence and Sardis Road North yesterday and noticed it had sprouted a Steve & Barry's sign, although the building still looks empty.

[DigitalSky]

I just happened to drive by the old Super Kmart at Independence and Sardis Road North yesterday and noticed it had sprouted a Steve & Barry's sign, although the building still looks empty.

hmm it's a shame because that building should have became the Wal-mart Supercenter I think, and the one in the Galleria shouldn't have been built because it's just wasting space that could've been used.